How to Make Spanish Paella

Ingredients

• 1/2 kilo fish fillet
• 1/2 kilo clams
• 1/2 kilo shrimp
• 1/2 kilo squid
• 1/4 cup fresh basil
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon crushed garlic
• 1 medium dry onion
• 3 large tomatoes
• 4 cups fish or shrimp stock
• Salt to taste
• 3 tablespoons paprika or sweet red pepper powder
• A pinch of saffron threads or turmeric
• 2 red bell peppers
• 2 green bell peppers
• Olive oil
• Vegetable oil
• 2 cups Egyptian or basmati rice, as desired
• Lemon slices for garnish
• 1 tablespoon saffron or annatto
• 1/2 cup peas, canned or fresh
• Tomato sauce:
• 2 peeled and seeded tomatoes
• 1/2 a yellow pepper, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Ready-made Tabasco sauce
• Black pepper
• Salt
• Vegetable stock
• How to make the tomato sauce:

Method

1. Clean the shrimp well, then wash with water and let drain.
2. Sauté the shrimp in a little oil in a pot until cooked. When their color changes, remove them from the pot and set aside.
3. In the same pot and with the same oil, sauté the fish fillet for a few minutes until cooked, without overcooking, then set aside.
4. After the fish, sauté the calamari in the same pot and set aside as well.
5. In the same pot we used, sauté the chopped dry onion until slightly wilted, then add the garlic, then the green and red bell peppers, then the finely chopped tomatoes.
6. Sprinkle paprika and turmeric over the vegetables and stir until the vegetables begin to wilt.
7. Add the finely chopped fresh cilantro and basil and stir briefly before adding the rice.
8. Add the rice and stir, then add the ready-made or homemade fish broth. You can get shrimp broth by boiling the heads separately in a pot after boiling them for a minute with aromatics and lemon to remove any fishy smell, then boiling them well to extract their broth.
9. After adding the shrimp or fish broth, add the saffron and leave the pot on the heat until it boils.
10. Let the rice absorb the broth, and just before it's fully cooked, place half the calamari on top.
11. Peel half of the shrimp that we set aside and add it over the rice and calamari, then stir.
12. Leave the pot on low heat until all ingredients are cooked.
13. Meanwhile, wash the shells and steam them until they open, then set aside to drain.
14. When the paella is cooked, garnish it with the remaining half of the shrimp, the cooked and drained shells, the remaining half of the calamari, the fish fillet, peas, and lemon slices.
15. Serve the tomato sauce alongside the Spanish paella.
16. Blend all ingredients in an electric blender.
17. Strain the mixture into a bowl, cover it, and leave it in the refrigerator or a cool place for about two hours.
18. When serving, you can warm it slightly on the stove, but it's best served cold after garnishing with basil leaves.